Council Meeting Highlights, June 18, 2015

The Office of the Fairness Commissioner commends the College on its registration practices

Council heard a presentation from Ms. Nuzhat Jafri, Executive Director, and Mr. Richard Webster, Policy Analyst, of the Office of the Fairness Commissioner (OFC). Ms. Jafri outlined the OFC’s mandate and processes, which are designed to build transparent, objective, impartial, and fair licensing practices among regulators. She also described the OFC’s continuous improvement strategy, which depends on a productive collaboration between the Commission and the regulators it oversees. Ms. Jafri commended the College on the good progress it has made in its registration practices over the last number of years.

Further guidance for independent contractors

The College has issued more direction as regards the independent contractor provisions under last year’s revised Professional Misconduct Regulation. “Independent Contractor: Risk & Control” focusses on the concepts of risk and control. To be considered an independent contractor, you must bear the financial risk of your practice as well as the control of its policies and direction, including the payment of rent for space and equipment. If you do not, you may be in a conflict of interest.

The Transparency Subcommittee presented Council with its draft Phase 2 by-laws. If passed, these by-laws will make more member information available to the public. Complaints dispositions, federal and provincial offences charges, known licences in other jurisdictions, and known regulatory findings in other jurisdictions will all be posted in the College register. These changes are part of a broader Ministry initiative to increase the transparency of health regulators, enabling the public to make more informed health-care choices.

In late June, the College sent an email to members and stakeholders asking for input on these proposed by-law amendments. Please take the time to respond – by survey, email, fax, or mail. Your feedback is important.

Binocular vision, diabetes, and dry eye disease: OPR updates

Three revised documents were approved for publication in the Optometric Practice Reference (OPR). The documents are: 6.7 Binocular Vision Assessment and Therapy; 7.4 Patients with Diabetes; and 7.11 Patients with Dry Eye Disease. Also, minor clarifications have been made to the document “Spectacle Therapy Using the Internet.”

To read the updated OPR, including these revised documents, please click here.

Council will meet again on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at the College office, 65 St. Clair Ave. E., Suite 900, Toronto. Council meetings are open to the public, and members are welcome to attend.